Race 13 - Day 6
Crew Diary - Crew Diary: Race 13 Day 6
04 July

Champagne Sailing

First off, big thanks to Events DC for their generous hospitality and an action-packed stopover at The Wharf DC, including an epic fireworks display over our parade of sail at departure. The hits continued as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge was raised for our fleet and, we made our way past the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel the following night. After a clean Le Mans start, the fleet split, and our lucky group was treated to a submarine on the surface cutting through the yachts while a drone circled overhead. As we made our way into the Atlantic, wildlife took center stage, with a pod of 20 to 30 dolphins chasing us down, playing alongside, and then cutting across our stern to disappear into the distance. We saw flying fish gracefully bouncing above the waves until one unlucky guy was plucked clean out of the air by what appeared to be a shark. Perhaps the most exciting discovery was a massive (honestly, it was huge!) dragonfly that had stowed away in our navigation station and caused quite a commotion when it took off and couldn’t find its way outside. The weather so far can only be described as perfect and sailing our Clipper 70 through open water has been a dream we get to relive each watch with sunny days and starry nights.

Today is Day 6 and, we are now 1,200 miles into our ocean crossing. I am on Galley Duty today and our menu consists of bacon sandwiches on boat-made bread, black bean fajitas for lunch, and chicken curry for dinner. Cooking for twenty in a tiny kitchen hurtling across the Atlantic at up to 25 knots (so far) is no easy feat, but the good meals and laughs we share have continued to strengthen our pack and keep spirits high as we drive ahead. The weather forecasts show a system building along our path, so the next few days may get a bit spicy, but for now, it’s smooth sailing, and with 2,200 miles to go, next stop – Oban!